tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112106382015-11-16T14:36:12.742-05:00TommyWonkwww.tommywonk.comTom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.comBlogger1851125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-54951948592966975462011-08-11T17:27:00.004-04:002011-08-11T17:32:14.005-04:00TommyWonkAfter&nbsp;1,850 posts on TommyWonk over the last six and a half years, it's time for me to turn my attention elsewhere.<br /><br />Next week I start a job with the State of Delaware in the area of renewable energy. Having argued that renewable energy can and does make economic sense, I want to help make that happen. It’s work worth doing, and worth doing well. <br /><br />Because the job involves many of the issues I have been writing about, I am taking a hiatus from blogging. I will also be stepping away from most of my other advocacy efforts. I plan to keep TommyWonk up to maintain a record of what I have written since 2005. I may return to blogging down the road, though I won’t make any promises. <br /><br />I have been gratified by the many kind words I have heard from my readers along the way. Thank you all for your interest and encouragement.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-62522412033999726802011-08-09T20:36:00.004-04:002011-08-09T21:22:38.996-04:00Personal Piety and Public PolicyWhen it comes to environmental advocacy, I’m not interested in personal virtue. For me, this is not a moral crusade. Yes people may install solar panels or drive a hybrid car out of a sense of moral obligation to the planet, a commendable sentiment when coupled with effective action to reduce one's impact on the planet. But I don’t think we will make the changes we need by trying to instill greater piety in people. I think we make the changes in our energy economy by working to reach the tipping point where the economic advantages of renewable energy are too compelling for us to turn back. I prefer to think about changing economic systems rather than nudging people to live more virtuous lives.<br /><br />The fallacy that this is about piety permeates the discussion about energy. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-05-01-cheney-usat.htm">Dick Cheney said ten years ago</a>, “Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy.”<br /><br />Cheney’s first fallacy is confusing conservation and efficiency. Conservation is driving less or turning down the thermostat. Efficiency is using less energy to provide the same benefit.<br /><br />His second fallacy is confusing inputs with outputs. Energy use is not perfectly correlated with economic output. The <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2010/02/energy-efficiency-and-gdp.html">amount of energy required to support a dollar of GDP</a> has fallen by half since World War II.<br /><br />This leads to his third fallacy: thinking that using less energy requires deprivation. I am not as interested in instilling personal virtue in others as I am in creating a cleaner and more efficient energy economy. It’s the idea that environmentalists are scolds who want to deprive their neighbors of a warm (or cool), brightly lit home at a reasonable cost that creates so much of the resistance to renewable energy policies.<br /><br />This is the basis of much of the&nbsp;criticism of Al Gore&nbsp;for not living frugally enough. When Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I predicted that his critics <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2007/10/nobel-peace-prize-awarded-to-al-gore.html">“will probably point out his hypocrisy when he flies to Stockholm to receive his award instead of traveling by kayak.”</a>&nbsp;Similar criticism has been leveled at Michelle Obama for eating an occasional burger and fries. This kind of carping just doesn't belong in a serious discussion about problems affecting millions of lives.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-82257384167087064782011-08-06T08:41:00.001-04:002011-08-06T09:54:46.228-04:00Record High Temperatures Across the CountryData geeks at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took the reports of record high temperatures across the country and <a href="http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/MediaDetail.php?MediaID=795&amp;MediaTypeID=1">plotted them on a map</a>:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m3WttWJl5Lw/TjxH0gD-vSI/AAAAAAAABQA/sR4ZAJnNwcs/s1600/795_20110804-July-Heat-Records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m3WttWJl5Lw/TjxH0gD-vSI/AAAAAAAABQA/sR4ZAJnNwcs/s400/795_20110804-July-Heat-Records.jpg" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;The data map shows that record high temperatures were not confined to just one region: <br /><blockquote>How hot was the month of July in 2011? So hot that just by plotting the location of each daily heat record that was broken, a nearly complete image of the contiguous United States is visible. Almost 9,000 daily records were broken or tied last month, including 2,755 highest maximum temperatures and 6,171 highest minimum temperatures (i.e., nighttime records). It should be noted that the tally of records collected so far is not complete – more are expected to come in as station data from across the U.S. is mailed to the National Climatic Data Center.&nbsp; </blockquote>Hot weather in one location doesn't necessarily mean the entire earth is getting warmer. But the appearance of record highs in every region suggests that something unusual is going on.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-91695344685716200432011-08-03T06:37:00.004-04:002011-08-03T08:03:02.169-04:00Glaciers Melting in Glacier National ParkGlacier National Park has some spectacular sights: Going-to-the-Run Road, Saint Mary Lake, and for now at least some glaciers. According to this story in the travel section of the&nbsp;<em>New York Times</em> reports, <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/travel/glacier-national-park-montana-fading-glaciers.html?hpw">you might want to make your reservations sooner rather than later</a>:<br /><blockquote>I was in northwest Montana for the hikes and the huckleberries, but most of all to experience the namesake glaciers, which, I had recently learned, might be around for only another decade or so. Given that a century and a half ago there were 150 and now there are 25, the trip makes me an enlistee in the practice known by a somewhat prickly term: last-chance tourism. </blockquote>Glaciers are a pretty good indicator of the earth’s thermal equilibrium. They are big enough to not be affected by a single summer’s heat wave or a winter’s cold snap. Changes in glaciers indicate long term trends. If the atmosphere is getting cooler, glaciers grow; if it’s getting warmer, glaciers shrink.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-25022768550721927812011-07-29T06:23:00.005-04:002011-08-02T20:07:41.657-04:00Sea Level Rise and Delaware Infrastructure<div style="border: medium none;">The costs of sea level rise from global warming will not be limited to beachfront property and wetlands. A look at&nbsp;DNREC's sea level rise&nbsp;maps reveals significant impacts for the infrastructure serving Wilmington and northern New Castle County. <a href="http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Pages/SLRMaps.aspx">DNREC's interactive maps</a> show the effects of 0.5 meters, 1.0 meter&nbsp;and 1.5 meters:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bFOlJpdRrfE/TjF0SW3ChSI/AAAAAAAABPw/2gXA96abrIA/s1600/half+meter+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bFOlJpdRrfE/TjF0SW3ChSI/AAAAAAAABPw/2gXA96abrIA/s400/half+meter+map.jpg" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOgu3oGE8Vw/TjF0YPfDnyI/AAAAAAAABP0/cyqebQRUBQQ/s1600/meter+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOgu3oGE8Vw/TjF0YPfDnyI/AAAAAAAABP0/cyqebQRUBQQ/s400/meter+map.jpg" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v1D3WFFE6sM/TjF0bgf-M1I/AAAAAAAABP4/jzpaEqWWDag/s1600/meter+and+half+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v1D3WFFE6sM/TjF0bgf-M1I/AAAAAAAABP4/jzpaEqWWDag/s400/meter+and+half+map.png" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div>The maps show that even a modest rise in sea level would undermine or flood much of the major infrastructure in and around Wilmington. <br /><br />I-95 would be flooded at several points between Rt. 141 and Wilmington. I-495 would be undermined near Edgemoor, under the bridge over the Christina River, at the interchange with Rt. 13, and at the interchange with I-95 and I-295. The S. Market Street, S. Walnut Street and 4th Street Bridges across the Christina River would be inundated. The Port of Wilmington would be partially underwater. Erosion along the banks of the Cherry Island Landfill and the Wilmington Wastewater Treatment Plant would threaten the structural integrity of these facilities that serve most of New Castle County. Amtrak lines would be flooded at several points, including the maintenance facility along I-495.<br /><br />DNREC's <a href="http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/coastal/Pages/DESLRAdvisoryCommittee.aspx">Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee</a>&nbsp;is looking at the potential costs associated with inundated or flooded infrastructure. <a href="http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/recovery/index.shtml">One current project</a> provides a useful benchmark:<br /><blockquote>Market Street Safety Project - Wilmington: This project would elevate the roadway out of the floodplain; reducing the impact flooding has on residents and businesses. The contract will also add the following streetscaping: sidewalks, pedestrian lighting and trees. Improvements also include undergrounding utilities. The limits are Market Street from "A" Street to just north of the Market/Walnut Street intersection. Bid opening date was Tuesday, June 8. The contract was awarded to Mumford &amp; Miller Concrete, Inc., on July 9, 2010 with a bid amount of $4,430,809.05. The construction began on September 6, 2010. 684 Calendar Day Project. </blockquote>That’s $4.4 million for less than a mile of roadway and&nbsp;associated infrastructure. I expect that the&nbsp;total infrastructure costs associated with sea level rise will be very large indeed. And what would the cost be if we decide that shoring up or replacing these transportation lines is just too expensive? Wilmington would be cut off from the highways and rail lines that connect New York and Washington.<br /><br />When I discussed this at a meeting of environmental advocates with then Senator Ted Kaufman, he responded with the words, "Buffalo, New York." I sat there puzzled for a moment, and he explained that Buffalo's economic relevance began to decline when the Erie Canal was replaced by rail lines and highways as the country's main commercial arteries.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-61646679676029547182011-07-26T06:16:00.003-04:002011-07-26T10:38:34.344-04:00The Brink of DefaultIn a way I am reminded of the Civil War. The South chose to break away from our national government rather than accept limits on slavery. Today, the Republican Party is&nbsp;threatening to break our government rather than compromise on efforts to control the debt.<br /><br />Minority obstruction has become a way of life in Congress, with the proliferation of&nbsp;filibusters and secret holds of nominations to federal office. Now this obstructionism has metastasized, with the entire government&nbsp;being marched inexorably to&nbsp;the brink of default. <br /><br />This is not just about the budget or the size of our federal government. Congress has argued about appropriations for more than two centuries. This is about whether one faction can force the government to stop operating unless that faction gets its way. The essence of majority rule is that all citizens and parties accept the legitimacy of the government, even when those with opposing views hold power.&nbsp;The House Republicans do&nbsp;not acknowledge limits to their power in a divided government, and&nbsp;are holding up the machinery of government unless&nbsp;they get&nbsp;their way.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-12261565729947949242011-07-20T06:41:00.000-04:002011-07-20T08:11:26.671-04:00Downplaying the Risk of DefaultRepublicans are downplaying the consequences of default if Congress fails to authorize more debt. The <em>News Journal</em> reports that <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110720/NEWS02/107200338/Coons-Markell-detail-how-default-could-hurt-Delaware?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home">Glen Urquhart thinks the U.S. government can get by without raising the debt ceiling</a>:<br /><blockquote>Glen Urquhart, a Republican who lost the 2010 U.S. House race, said Democrats like Markell, Coons and Obama are trying to scare the public in order to secure higher taxes to pay down the debt.<br /><br />"Those are great DNC talking points, but they're just not the truth," said Urquhart, a businessman from Rehoboth Beach. "The United States is still the safest place to invest. Nothing is going to happen."<br /><br />Urquhart suggested the U.S. Treasury sell bonds on the proceeds of the Social Security Trust Fund to get by until a resolution can be reached on the debt ceiling.</blockquote>Urquhart should go back to school for remedial finance. Selling bonds is the way the government finances debt. Bonds cannot be sold unless and until Congress authorizes the government to borrow the money.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-80428985014767683412011-07-19T17:34:00.002-04:002011-07-19T17:45:45.186-04:00ForgivenessThe <i>New York Times</i> has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/us/19questions.html?ref=us">a stunning first person account from the victim and the perpetrator of a brutal hate crime in Texas</a>:<br /><blockquote>Mark Anthony Stroman, 41, a stonecutter from Dallas, shot people he believed were Arabs, saying he was enraged by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He killed at least two: Vasudev Patel, an Indian immigrant who was Hindu, and Waqar Hasan, a Muslim born in Pakistan.</blockquote><blockquote>A third shooting victim, Rais Bhuiyan, 37, a former Air Force pilot from Bangladesh, survived after Mr. Stroman shot him in the face at close range. Mr. Stroman admitted to the shootings. He is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday.</blockquote><blockquote>Mr. Bhuiyan, despite being partly blinded in his right eye, has spent the past several months creating <a href="http://www.worldwithouthate.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">a Web site</span></a> with a petition and meeting with officials in Texas to try to persuade the state to spare Mr. Stroman.</blockquote>The <i>Times</i> interviewed the two, Bhuiyan&nbsp;by phone,&nbsp;and Stroman who responded via typewriter. <br /><br />Rais Bhuiyan:<br /><blockquote>Then there’s a guy coming into the store with a hat and sunglasses and a bandanna and a gun in his hand. I thought it was a robbery. I said, “Don’t shoot me please. Take all the money.” He said, “Where are you from?” He was four or five feet away from me. I felt cold air in my spine. I said, “Excuse me?” It was a double-barrel gun. I felt a million bee stings on my face at the same time. Then I heard an explosion. I saw images of my parents, my siblings and my fiancée and then a graveyard and I thought, “Am I dying today?” I looked down and saw blood was pouring from my head. I placed both my hands on my head to get my brains in and I screamed, “Mom!” I looked and he was still staring at me and I thought he might shoot me again if I don’t fall and he doesn’t think I’m dead. The floor was getting wet with my blood. Then he left the store. I could not believe he shot me. I thought I was dreaming, going through a hallucination. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was not a threat to him. I couldn’t believe someone would just shoot you like that. </blockquote>Mark Anthony Stroman:<br /><blockquote>“Yes, Mr Rais Bhuiyan, what an inspiring soul...for him to come forward after what ive done speaks Volume’s...and has really Touched My heart and the heart of Many others World Wide...Especially since for the last 10 years all we have heard about is How Evil the Islamic faith Can be...its proof that all are Not bad nor Evil.” </blockquote>Bhuiyan's website is called <i><a href="http://www.worldwithouthate.org/">World Without Hate</a></i>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stroman's blog is called <i><a href="http://tamouzmedia3.wordpress.com/">Execution Chronicles</a></i>.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-33698972477914177022011-07-18T17:35:00.004-04:002011-07-18T22:15:18.683-04:00Bill Clinton and Reflective Roof CoatingsI have previously noted the simple and cost effective practice of&nbsp;covering dark roofs&nbsp;with&nbsp;reflective roof coatings (<a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2009/06/white-roof-paint-can-help-reduce-global.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2009/06/more-on-reflective-roof-coatings.html">here</a>). Now&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/07/paint-your-roofs-white/241784/">Bill Clinton is touting the&nbsp;benefits of putting people to work reducing cooling costs with this simple method:</a><br /><blockquote>What's the single best idea to jumpstart job creation?&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Look at the tar roofs covering millions of American buildings. They absorb huge amounts of heat when it's hot. And they require more air conditioning to cool the rooms. Mayor Bloomberg started a program to hire and train young people to paint New York's roofs white. A big percentage of the kids have been able to parlay this simple work into higher-skilled training programs or energy-related retrofit jobs. (And, believe it or not, painting the roof white can lower the electricity use by 20 percent on a hot day!)</blockquote><blockquote>Every black roof in New York should be white; every roof in Chicago should be white; every roof in Little Rock should be white. Every flat tar-surface roof anywhere! In most of these places you could recover the cost of the paint and the labor in a week. It's the quickest, cheapest thing you can do. In the current environment it's been difficult for the mayors to get what is otherwise a piddling amount of money to do it everywhere. Yet lowering the utility bill in every apartment house 10 to 20 percent frees cash that can be spent to increase economic growth.</blockquote>This simple technique acts locally by reducing cooling costs, and globally by reflecting sunlight back into space. We don't need to rely on guesswork to measure the&nbsp;benefits; the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/2008publications/CEC-999-2008-031/CEC-999-2008-031.PDF">has already crunched the numbers</a>.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-13565614452685150232011-07-14T06:32:00.003-04:002011-07-18T18:10:45.287-04:00Michelle Obama's Milkshake and FriesMichelle Obama has drawn predictable carping from her critics who pounced on her lunch of a burger, fries and milkshake as hypocritical, or at least counterproductive, given her high profile campaign to reduce childhood obesity. John Talty&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/178575/20110712/michelle-obama-shake-shack-visit.htm">challenged her sincerity</a>&nbsp;in the <i>International Business Times</i>:<br /><blockquote>It's time for Mrs. Obama to either put up or shut up on how she represents the fight against obesity.<br /><br />She can truly get committed to the process and eat healthy, as she encourages people to do, or she can eat any way she'd like but without all of the pretenses.</blockquote><i>USA Today</i>&nbsp;reports that&nbsp;<a href="http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2011/07/Nutritionists-salute-first-ladys-occasional-burger-binge/49314238/1">nutritionists, who deal with the issues every day,&nbsp;are more supportive</a>:<br /><blockquote>"It's perfectly fine to indulge in your favorite foods every once in a while," says Elizabeth Ward, a registered dietitian in Boston, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler. "A healthy lifestyle is all about balance and inclusion, not deprivation and misery. I would have preferred a cup of fat-free milk to the diet soda, though."<br /><br />Milk shakes are a good source of calcium, but are loaded with fat and calories, Ward says. Burgers pack protein, iron and other nutrients, but tend to be high in fat, also.<br /><br />Robyn Flipse, a registered dietitian in Bradley Beach, N.J., and author of Fighting the Freshman Fifteen, says, "Michelle Obama's openness about how she eats and exercises is the most valuable nutrition news that's been published in decades.<br /><br />"The government's dietary guidelines are very clear on the need to establish eating patterns that are flexible and accommodate our personal preferences. Mrs. Obama provides a perfect example of just that when she enjoys the occasional burger and fries for lunch, while also demonstrating to her daughters the hard-to-grasp concept of moderation.</blockquote>The mistake Mrs. Obama's critics make is to turn this into a question&nbsp;of personal virtue or strength of character. Turning obesity into a question&nbsp;of&nbsp;morally deficiency obscures the large issues of public health policy that need to be discussed.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-2767737052105543752011-07-12T06:54:00.004-04:002011-07-12T08:21:59.284-04:00The Transport Rule and DelawareThe <em>News Journal</em> has a story today on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110712/NEWS02/107120352/New-rule-plant-emissions-boon-Del-other-downwind-states?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home">the EPA's new Cross-State Air Pollution Rule</a>, also called the Transport Rule, that targets power plants that emit pollutants that affect the air in downwind states. Because so much pollution wafts into Delaware from sources to our west, compliance with Clean Air Act standards becomes impossible.<br /><br />This contributor to the <em>Huffington Post</em>&nbsp;noted <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/senator-carper-oversees-e_b_892968.html">DNREC Secretary Collin O'Mara's testimony</a> to&nbsp;a hearing Senator Tom Carper held&nbsp;on the topic:<br /><blockquote>O’Mara summed it up with one sentence: “This imbalance allows upwind states to enjoy a competitive advantage for economic development, particularly in the recruitment and retention of manufacturing firms, while the downwind states are forced to deal with the consequences economically and environmentally.”</blockquote>Upwind states that burn coal enjoy cheaper electricity rates while sending the pollution eastward to Delaware, where it causes billions in health and mortality costs. Because of the lack of fossil fuels and the&nbsp;congested grid, Delaware pays more for its power. Delaware has to pay&nbsp;the costs of cleaning up local sources of pollution, and still doesn't meet&nbsp;clean air&nbsp;standards.&nbsp;We need&nbsp;to promote renewables,&nbsp;reduce&nbsp;our reliance on out of state energy and press for fair enforcement of the Clean Air Act to overcome these disadvantages.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-48895361769962434602011-07-07T06:31:00.005-04:002011-07-08T08:54:23.243-04:00Honoring Our ObligationsSenator Chris Coons took to the Senate floor yesterday to warn&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="http://coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/on-senate-floor-senator-coons-warns-of-america-becoming-a-bad-investment-with-default-crisis">America becoming a bad investment</a> if&nbsp;the U.S. government refused to pay its bills:<br /><blockquote>And I am gravely concerned that we are on the verge of the most predictable financial crisis in modern American history as we slowly grind toward the predicted deficit – excuse me, the predicted default on America’s mortgage on August 2nd.</blockquote>His&nbsp;slip of the tongue illustrates the point that the debt ceiling has nothing to do with controlling the deficit, but whether Congress will refuse to meet our obligations. Some countries like Greece are facing default because they are having trouble paying their bills. The U.S. is risking default because one political party thinks we should <i>refuse</i> to pay our bills. Coons yesterday pointed out that the debt ceiling is about meeting obligations already incurred:<br /><blockquote>This is not about cutting up the credit cards or ending the blank check for our current president. This is about whether we will continue to meet the commitments America has already made.</blockquote>I honestly can't understand what threatening to default has to do with fiscal responsibility. I grew up learning that bills were obligations, and that those who refused to&nbsp;honor their obligations—whether family, business or government—were untrustworthy. <br /><br />In a much discussed column in the <i>New York Times</i>, David Brooks <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/opinion/05brooks.html?_r=2">had these scathing words for the Tea Party Republicans</a>: <br /><blockquote>The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor. </blockquote>I don't see how anyone entrusted with responsibility for governing our country could imagine, even for a moment, that casting doubt on the trustworthiness of our government is somehow useful. Brooks said that if Republicans push the government into default, that voters will "conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern." I couldn't agree more.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-70002612880658519062011-07-04T01:45:00.006-04:002011-07-07T09:04:39.636-04:00When in the Course of Human EventsIn CONGRESS, July 4, 1776<br />The unaminous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,<br /><br />When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.<br /><br />We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.<br /><br />He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. <br /><br />He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.<br /><br />He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.<br /><br />He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.<br /><br />He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.<br /><br />He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.<br /><br />He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.<br /><br />He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.<br /><br />He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.<br /><br />He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.<br /><br />He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.<br /><br />He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:<br /><br />For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:<br /><br />For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:<br /><br />For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: <br /><br />For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: <br /><br />For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: <br /><br />For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: <br /><br />For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:<br /><br />For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:<br /><br />For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.<br /><br />He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. <br /><br />He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. <br /><br />He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.<br /><br />He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.<br /><br />He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.<br /><br />In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.<br /><br />Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.<br /><br />We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.<br /><br />[New Hampshire] Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton<br /><br />[Massachusetts] John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry<br /><br />[Rhode Island] Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery<br /><br />[Connecticut] Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott<br /><br />[New York] William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris<br /><br />[New Jersey] Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark<br /><br />[Pennsylvania] Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross<br /><br />[Delaware] Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean<br /><br />[Maryland] Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton<br /><br />[Virginia] George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton<br /><br />[North Carolina] William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn<br /><br />[South Carolina] Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton<br /><br />[Georgia] Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George WaltonTom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-57090987332885057762011-06-29T12:40:00.004-04:002011-06-29T14:04:57.960-04:00The Bond Bill and Stoltz Real Estate Partners<a href="http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS146.NSF/b56325578823407e85256a470043e6eb/a8660565cc609dce852578a2006dbecd?OpenDocument">Senate Bill 130</a>, the Bond Bill, was formally introduced yesterday. Old Leg Hall hands will quickly review the numbers in the front of the bill and turn to what is called the epilog language, which provides instructions on how the funds shall and shall not be used. <br /><br />Page 52 of this year's Bond Bill includes some specific instructions to DelDOT on how to handle permits for two high profile development projects in New Castle County:<br /><blockquote>Section 114. Buck Road. The Department of Transportation is requested to refrain from issuing any entrance permit, authorization, or approval for use of any entrance way from New Castle County Parcel Number 0702600094 onto Buck Road, until such time as it also certifies by letter to the New Castle County Department of Land Use that the developer’s proposed entrance design meets the Department’s standards, pursuant to its authority under Title 17 Del. C. §146 and its related regulations, intended to protect public safety and maintain smooth traffic flow. The government of New Castle County is also requested to solicit comments from and work with the residents of surrounding communities, community organizations, and State and local officials to address traffic safety and other legitimate land use concerns about the proposed development, after the receipt of the Department’s letter.<br /><br />Section 115. Routes 141 and 48. The Department of Transportation is requested to refrain from issuing any permit, authorization, or approval for use of any new, additional, revised, or modified entrances for New Castle County Parcel Numbers 07-032.20-003, 07-032.20-048 through and including 07-032.20-055, 07-032.20-057 and 07-032.30-072 onto or from Route 141 or Route 48, until such time as the Department obtains, reviews, and comments upon a traffic operations analysis for the area, which among other elements addresses (1) the predicted levels of service on intersections, roadways, or the Tyler McConnell Bridge affected by the proposed development of these parcels, and (2) the roadway improvements necessary to accommodate the development of these parcels, based upon the exploratory development plans submitted to the New Castle County Department of Land Use by the developer, as required by the County’s Unified Development Code (UDC). To the extent that any submission of proposed development plans is substantially different than the original exploratory development plans submitted to the County, the Department is further requested to assess the impact of the new submission’s traffic generation upon the local transportation network. The scope of the assessment shall be at the reasonable discretion of the Department.</blockquote>The projects in question, proposed by Stoltz Real Estate Partners, have been the subject of immense controversy. I don't know how much these two sections will affect consideration of the projects.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-10711168035822580312011-06-28T17:15:00.003-04:002011-06-29T09:54:53.375-04:00The Value of Public-Private PartnershipsThe Caesar Rodney Institute's John Stapleford writes about Bill Wyer's tenure as chair of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce in <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110628/OPINION07/106280325/Beware-an-overreliance-public-private-partnerships?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p">a <em>News Journal</em>&nbsp;op-ed critical of public-private partnerships</a>:<br /><blockquote>Bill was a junkyard dog for business in Delaware. Under his leadership, the chamber fought against any tax increases and invasive regulations, and the encroachment of government into the marketplace.</blockquote>Actually&nbsp;Bill Wyer&nbsp;makes a splendid&nbsp;poster child for the value of public-private partnerships. Those who remember their&nbsp;Wilmington business history will recall that he was the&nbsp;first managing director of Wilmington 2000, which was created by newly inaugurated mayor Jim Sills in 1993. Wilmington 2000 played a key role in the city's successful efforts to&nbsp;retain and boost downtown jobs by retaining&nbsp;DuPont and bringing MBNA and other financial companies to the city. As a result, Wilmington's wage economy grew by $1 billion during the&nbsp;1990s, a 50 percent increase.<br /><br />I&nbsp;worked in the mayor's office at the time,&nbsp;and can testify to&nbsp;what a strong partnership between business and government can achieve in promoting economic development. I've seen what works, and it doesn't resemble the doctrinaire prescriptions of the Tea Party movement. Governor Jack Markell likes to ask business leaders what he can do to make them more successful. This may be part of why Delaware has Fisker Automotive and Bloom Energy moving into sites recently abandoned by GM and Chrysler with funding from Kleiner Perkins, the world's most famous venture capital firm.<br /><br />Tea Party conservatives and the Caesar Rodney Institute may believe that business&nbsp;and&nbsp;government are by definition adversaries, but my experience working with Bill Wyer taught me that when government and business pull together, great things can happen.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-19118442163876610112011-06-27T06:25:00.004-04:002011-06-27T10:14:34.462-04:00Shale Gas Reserve Projections and Price ForecastsThe <em>New York Times</em> has published several important articles questioning industry estimates of the amount of natural gas reserves in shale deposits. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26gas.html?_r=1&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;emc=tha2">The first article</a>, accompanied by extensive documentation, offers evidence&nbsp;that the industry has overestimated the&nbsp;size and productivity of shale gas reserves. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27gasside.html?_r=1">Another article</a> describes how a change in&nbsp;a rule promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission allows natural gas companies to use modeling techniques to claim larger reserves without disclosing their methods.<br /><br />Today the <em>Times</em> reports that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27gas.html?hp">optimistic estimates of natural gas reserves could be affecting government energy projections</a>:<br /><blockquote>In its annual forecasting reports, the United States Energy Information Administration, a division of the Energy Department, has steadily increased its estimates of domestic supplies of natural gas, and investors and the oil and gas industry have repeated them widely to make their case about a prosperous future. </blockquote><blockquote>But not everyone in the Energy Information Administration agrees. In scores of internal e-mails and documents, officials within the Energy Information Administration, or E.I.A., voice skepticism about the shale gas industry. </blockquote>EIA projections are used to guide policy and planning in government and industry. If shale gas projections are too optimistic, then natural gas price projections&nbsp;will turn out to be&nbsp;too rosy as well. The EIA, in its <a href="http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/">Annual Energy Outlook 2011</a>,&nbsp;estimates shale gas extraction to&nbsp;grow fourfold&nbsp;over the next 25 years, based on an estimate of 827 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable reserves.<br /><br />Natural gas price projections, which&nbsp;have dropped sharply specifically due to higher estimates of the supply,&nbsp;are used to calculate the estimated cost premiums of renewable energy. If the long term projection&nbsp;of natural gas prices goes down, then wind and solar power look more expensive by comparison. The EIA's projects that its most conservative shale gas recovery estimate would result in&nbsp;prices&nbsp;30 percent higher than its reference case.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-53068351300736408542011-06-24T06:50:00.040-04:002011-06-24T08:16:54.559-04:00Bluewater Wind Contract Terms ExtendedNRG Bluewater Wind&nbsp;yesterday announced that it had agreed with Delmarva Power to postpone payment of&nbsp;security deposits&nbsp;required as part of the power purchase agreement. NRG has cited uncertainty about the restoration of loan guarantees in delaying the construction of a meteorological tower until next year. The <em>News Journal</em> reports that <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110624/NEWS08/106240350/NRG-delays-Bluewater-Wind-farm-decision?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home">NRG sees some hope that the loan guarantees would be restored</a>:<br /><blockquote>But NRG officials have one small reason for optimism: The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to restore a fraction of the loan guarantee money for those projects that have already applied.</blockquote>As the news website <em>Delaware First</em> reports, <a href="http://www.delawarefirst.org/1_government_and_politics/delawares-offshore-wind-farm-project-short-term-reprieve/">Governor Markell supports a short delay in the contractual timetable</a>:<br /><blockquote>Governor Jack Markell’s office is pleased that the extension allows more time to work out the concerns that threaten the project, but spokesman Brian Selander also noted the limited nature of the extension, saying that the Governor did not want an “open ended” timetable.</blockquote>An indefinite delay in the project could put Delaware at a competitive disadvantage in attracting the supply chain and assembly business that will need to be put in place to build offshore wind projects up and down the east coast. If NRG allows the timetable to slip back another year without a definitive start date, then suppliers would be less likely to set up shop in Delaware.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-57094512329850581382011-06-23T06:57:00.019-04:002011-06-23T20:14:03.567-04:00Bloom Energy and Venture Capital<a href="http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS146.nsf/847c3a968a0768b0882569a5004f37cb/b8aec0e2053460a4852578af00590fa3?OpenDocument">Senate Bill 124</a>, which would help bring Bloom Energy to Delaware by including the company's fuel cells in the state's renewable porfolio standard, was released from the House Energy Committee yesterday. The <i>News Journal</i> reports that the Caesar Rodney Institute&nbsp;yesterday <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110623/NEWS02/106230340/House-panel-OKs-Bloom-bill?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CLocal%7Cs">continued in its vocal opposition to the deal</a>.<br /><br />Writing in <i>Town Square Delaware</i>, John Moore of Acorn Energy <a href="http://www.townsquaredelaware.com/bloom-energy-delawares-super-long-shot/">reviews the deal and thinks it just might work</a>. He also notes that Jack Markell is building ties to west coast venture capital firms:<br /><blockquote>On the whole I see it as a low cost option on a big opportunity.&nbsp;It seems that Governor Markell has credibility with Silicon Valley venture firms and he is successfully leveraging state and federal subsidies to create economic activity in Delaware.</blockquote>Silicon Valley venture capital firm <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CCIQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpcb.com%2F&amp;ei=IS4DTofrOoqtgQeD0-2aDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNGG4GoIM2ariqCS3sx0VAaKudPjzQ">Kleiner Perkins</a> has now funded two large industrial enterprises in Delaware: Fisker Automotive and Bloom Energy. Moore notes that Bloom could create spinoff firms as it builds a network of connections between academia and related companies. Bloom Energy will fill in the last link in a chain linking research and development with capitalization and commercial production. Ties to investors that previously never invested in Delaware could help build on the new&nbsp;industries that are locating here.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-92089850769767570492011-06-17T06:24:00.007-04:002011-06-17T12:48:05.432-04:00The Economics of Obesity in Three ChartsFor those who wonder why we have an obesity problem in the U.S., <a href="http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/a-look-at-how-many-calories-1-will-buy/?ref=business">this chart from I found on the Economix blog explains a lot</a>:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iYpI5iVBK9g/TftX6QY3b0I/AAAAAAAABOY/q_ptu5oq5_k/s1600/16graphic-biz-blog480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iYpI5iVBK9g/TftX6QY3b0I/AAAAAAAABOY/q_ptu5oq5_k/s400/16graphic-biz-blog480.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Unhealthy foods are becoming cheaper, while healthy foods are getting more expensive. <a href="http://laphamsquarterly.org/visual/assets_c/2011/05/DollarMenuHiRes-2152.php">This chart at <em>Lapham's Quarterly</em></a> illustrates the stark difference in calories purchased for a dollar: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vvof9LkF1UU/TftXrphL2oI/AAAAAAAABOU/Q1WsnrbHb6M/s1600/laphams+chart.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vvof9LkF1UU/TftXrphL2oI/AAAAAAAABOU/Q1WsnrbHb6M/s640/laphams+chart.bmp" width="403" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">While people point to lifestyle issues, like the number of hours we spend in front of screens, as the cause of rising obesity, it may not be&nbsp;a matter of personal character, but of economically rational behavior on the part of consumers. Whether this represents rational behavior on the part of policy makers is another matter. <a href="http://consumerist.com/2010/03/why-a-salad-costs-more-than-a-big-mac.html">This chart from the <em>Consumerist</em></a>, which uses the old food pyramid,&nbsp;provides a clear illustration of how badly skewed our food subsidies are:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7f-sHGtTPjE/TftYIApinzI/AAAAAAAABOc/bnwC0qxdr9M/s1600/pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7f-sHGtTPjE/TftYIApinzI/AAAAAAAABOc/bnwC0qxdr9M/s400/pyramid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I find it particularly distressing that some see obesity among the poor as evidence of their character shortcomings. Given the&nbsp;distorted economics of food in this country,&nbsp;they may be acting rationally in economic terms by buying the most calories for the dollar, even though their purchasing patterns don't optimize long term well being. </div>Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-80515423163176887362011-06-16T07:12:00.011-04:002011-06-16T12:09:53.333-04:00How Will Bloom Energy Affect the RPS?<a href="http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS146.nsf/847c3a968a0768b0882569a5004f37cb/b8aec0e2053460a4852578af00590fa3?OpenDocument">SB 124</a>, a key&nbsp;part of the package to bring Bloom Energy to Delaware,&nbsp;would include the company's fuel cells in the state's renewable portfolio standard or RPS. The <em>News Journal</em> reports that there is <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110616/BUSINESS/106160336/Senate-panel-passes-bill-reclassify-fuel-cells?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|s">some unease over&nbsp;broadening the renewable portfolio standard to include the fuel&nbsp;cells</a>:<br /><blockquote>Some observers said lawmakers were creating a dangerous precedent by watering down the definition of a "renewable" energy resource, since the bill applies to fuel cells that use fossil fuels to operate.<br /><br />"This is sort of a stretch of what is supposed to be renewable energy," said John Austin, a retired environmental scientist living in Rehoboth Beach.</blockquote>How much&nbsp;of the RPS would be given over to Bloom Energy fuel cells? The bill would cap the allotment for fuel cells under the RPS at 1,152 megawatt hours per day, which would be 3.58 percent of Delaware’s total electricity sales in 2009. The RPS is programmed to grow to&nbsp;25 percent by 2025, so the bulk of the portfolio would still go to traditional renewables like wind and solar.<br /><br />The RPS provides for a portfolio of energy sources to meet our needs for cost effective clean energy and help promote new business opportunities in the green tech sector, and no single source can meet all of our policy objectives. Managing a portfolio of renewable energy sources requires tradeoffs among different interests to make the whole thing work. While this is an awkward and somewhat artificial use of the RPS, I have decided I can support the measure. <br /><br />Deployment of the Bloom Energy Servers will have benefits for the environment and the grid. To the extent that these fuel cells replace coal generation (which provides about one half of our electricity) they will contribute to reductions in air emissions. Bloom Energy’s fuel cells are reportedly more efficient than conventional natural gas turbines, and their ability to be located onsite enhances their efficiency by eliminating the loss of power over transmission lines. By providing distributed baseload power, this technology will alleviate congestion on the grid and reduce our reliance on out of state power. In considering the tradeoffs, I have concluded that the&nbsp;benefits are worth the stretching of the RPS in this case.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-80959324956092289912011-06-14T06:43:00.006-04:002011-06-15T12:21:45.668-04:00Upgrading the GridI sometimes hear the criticism that&nbsp;the upgrades to the grid required to accommodate renewable energy will be too expensive. But the grid is like any complex infrastructure system; it would need to be upgraded even if we didn't bring new energy sources online. The <em>Washington Post</em> reports that the Obama administration is&nbsp;proposing ways <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/white-house-pushes-policies-to-upgrade-nations-aging-electrical-network/2011/06/13/AGM4nUTH_story.html">to&nbsp;move the electrical grid into the 21st century</a>:<br /><blockquote>Power utilities spend only 0.2 percent of their revenues on research and development, less than any other industry except papermaking, said Massoud Amin, a University of Minnesota professor who has long promoted upgrading the power system. <br /><br />One consequence is increased power outages. From 2000 to 2004, the United States experienced 149 blackouts, each of which affected at least 50,000 people. From 2005 to 2009, that figure more than doubled, to 349, according to Energy Department data.</blockquote>A&nbsp;smarter grid&nbsp;that would more efficiently dispatch renewable energy would also help reduce the number of outages. It would&nbsp;particularly benefit customers on the east coast, where population density and congestion force us to pay higher prices than much of the rest of the country. By the way, one appealing feature of <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2011/06/bloom-energy-coming-to-delaware.html">the Bloom Energy fuel cells</a> is that they can provide reliable, on site generation for large energy users, reducing the need to dispatch power over the grid.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-46138959476409321192011-06-10T06:20:00.006-04:002011-06-10T10:36:11.994-04:00Bloom Energy Coming to DelawareA decade into the 21st century, Delaware is placing a big bet on clean, high tech energy. <a href="http://www.bloomenergy.com/">Bloom Energy</a>, which makes sleek, highly efficient fuel cells,&nbsp;announced yesterday&nbsp;that it is setting up a manufacturing facility on the old Chrysler site in Newark. The company will eventually employ 900 workers, and its suppliers may add&nbsp;another 600 jobs on the site.<br /><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sb-cC5jG-Og/TfEPEcCslEI/AAAAAAAABOQ/Nv31A1HjjDo/s1600/Bloom+Energy+Servers+at+Caltech%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sb-cC5jG-Og/TfEPEcCslEI/AAAAAAAABOQ/Nv31A1HjjDo/s320/Bloom+Energy+Servers+at+Caltech%255B1%255D.JPG" t8="true" width="210" /></a>The fuel cells, called Bloom Energy Servers or Bloom Boxes,&nbsp;combine fuel such as methane&nbsp;with air to directly generate electricity. These fuel cells are already online providing power to&nbsp;customers such as Google,&nbsp;Adobe and CalTech. <br /><br />I spoke to a session of <a href="http://leadershipdelaware.org/">Leadership Delaware</a> yesterday on the economics of renewable energy. The fellows, who had been listening to speakers on energy all day, had not heard the news when I stood up around 4:30. Two minutes into my talk, I could make the point that clean energy is not a dream, but a reality, which will bring&nbsp;jobs and other economic benefits to Delaware. <br /><br />This is what a clean energy future looks like. Delaware has no energy resources other than sunlight and wind, and thus&nbsp;has no economic interest in relying on coal power from out of state. Coal burned here or to our west produces pollutants like SOx, NOx and particulate matter that degrades our health. <br /><br />I'm sitting on a panel on green energy as part of&nbsp;today's <a href="http://dedo.delaware.gov/gebc/">Governor's Entrepreneurial Business Conference</a> in Wilmington. (It's a great panel that includes Dr. Michael T. Klein and Dan Rich&nbsp;of the University of Delaware and John Moore of Acorn Energy.) The discussion won't just be theoretical;&nbsp;we will be able to talk about real opportunities in the very near future.&nbsp;In the effort to replace 19th energy with&nbsp;21st century&nbsp;technology, it make sense for Delaware to place its bet on clean energy.</div>Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-35861298206508477502011-06-08T17:28:00.002-04:002011-06-08T19:33:59.174-04:00Why Maintain the Tax Breaks for Big Oil?Writing for <i>Fortune</i>, columnist Dan Primack says <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/26/end-big-oils-tax-breaks-now/">it's time to end the tax breaks for oil companies</a>:<br /><blockquote>For too long we've heard petroleum advocates say that solar, wind, and biofuel are failed experiments. They've had their chance, but have been unable to demonstrate cost-effectiveness.<br /><br />What this ignores, of course, is that American oil and gas companies have had a century of built-in advantages. For example, they are allowed to deduct "intangible drilling costs" -- including labor and drilling fluids -- the moment a well is tapped (even if it proves to be dry). And then there's the "depletion allowance," which allows certain extractors to shelter around 15% of a well's production from the IRS. And deductions for royalties paid to foreign governments. And the oil and gas liability cap that remains at just $75 million, more than a year after the BP (BP) rig explosion. Then there's Section 199, which allows profitable oil and gas companies to deduct 6% of net income.</blockquote>Yes there are&nbsp;incentives for renewable energy, but these are dwarfed by&nbsp;federal subsidies&nbsp;for fossil fuels.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tK4dzM4ADf0/Te-3V7iIJwI/AAAAAAAABOM/arcZFJia13Y/s1600/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tK4dzM4ADf0/Te-3V7iIJwI/AAAAAAAABOM/arcZFJia13Y/s320/phpThumb_generated_thumbnail.jpeg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>Primack also points out that renewable energy incentives tend to be short lived, like <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2011/05/setbacks-on-renewable-energy-in.html">the loan guarantees for wind power that were yanked earlier this year</a>. In contrast, <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2011/06/why-not-use-unclaimed-nuclear-loan.html">similar loan guarantees for&nbsp;nuclear power have gone begging for six years</a>. He makes the case that renewable energy advocates should embrace the elimination of all energy subsidies.<br /><br />I don't agree. Even if all federal&nbsp;subsidies for fossil fuels were to disappear, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05890.x/abstract">the enormous negative externalities of coal would still not be priced into the market</a>. But Primack does make a persuasive case for making the playing field more level.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-39605670697893268392011-06-06T17:08:00.002-04:002011-06-06T17:34:11.665-04:00The Economic Impact of the High LineI first wrote about the&nbsp;elevated park in New York City called the High Line <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2005/06/plans-for-elevated-park-progressing-in.html">in 2005</a>, and described&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2009/10/high-line.html">my first visit to the&nbsp;park in 2009</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v9A9rDe6aUQ/Te03QqXvzQI/AAAAAAAABOI/2l3SgFbg6Pc/s1600/highline+tw+1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v9A9rDe6aUQ/Te03QqXvzQI/AAAAAAAABOI/2l3SgFbg6Pc/s1600/highline+tw+1.bmp" t8="true" /></a></div>The <i>New York Times</i> reports <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/nyregion/with-next-phase-ready-area-around-high-line-is-flourishing.html?hpw">on the economic impact of the still unfinished High Line</a>, which&nbsp;has become a classic example of how investment in public amenities&nbsp;can spur private investment:<br /><blockquote>A decade ago, so many moneyed interests were united against saving the elevated freight tracks that cut through the West Side of Manhattan that the idea appeared to be doomed. Owners of land and buildings throughout Chelsea wanted the decaying High Line viaduct razed, and the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani supported their feelings. <br /><br />But on Friday afternoon, there was Mr. Giuliani’s successor, Michael R. Bloomberg, proclaiming that preserving the High Line as a public park revitalized a swath of the city and generated $2 billion in private investment surrounding the park. <br /><br />The mayor pointed to the deluxe apartment buildings whose glass walls press up against the High Line and the hundreds of art galleries, restaurants and boutiques it overlooks. All of that commerce more than makes up for the $115 million the city has spent on the park and the deals it has made to encourage developers to build along the High Line without blocking out the sun, Mr. Bloomberg said. On top of the 8,000 construction jobs those projects required, the redevelopment has added about 12,000 jobs in the area, the mayor said. </blockquote>I've been up on the High Line twice, and found the park crowded with neighborhood residents&nbsp;and tourists. Gleaming residential towers and revived brick&nbsp;tenements&nbsp;flank the park. It's one of most unusual and most successful parks I've ever seen.Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11210638.post-27804220890184354042011-06-02T06:09:00.005-04:002011-06-02T11:43:44.970-04:00Why Not Use Unclaimed Nuclear Loan Guarantees for Wind Power?Last week <a href="http://www.tommywonk.com/2011/05/setbacks-on-renewable-energy-in.html">NRG cited the end of loan guarantees for wind power</a> as a reason for delaying the construction of a meteorological tower for the Bluewater Wind project. In response, Tom Carper and Chris Coons&nbsp;signed a letter announcing their intention to restore the loan program:<br /><blockquote>If there was $8 billion available in loan guarantees, which would require an appropriation of $80 million, the Department of Energy would be able to facilitate&nbsp;the financing of the first substantial tranche of offshore wind projects in this country.</blockquote>Having thought about&nbsp;where the funding could be found, I fired off this letter to our congressional delegation:<br /><blockquote>Dear Senator Carper, Senator Coons and Congressman Carney:</blockquote><blockquote>I propose that unclaimed nuclear power loan guarantees be repurposed for wind power. As you know, NRG cited the lack of funding for loan guarantees as a reason to delay the Bluewater Wind project, specifically the meteorological tower, which was scheduled to be erected this year.</blockquote><blockquote>According to the <em>New York Times</em>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/business/energy-environment/29utility.html?_r=1&amp;ref=politics">half of the funds for nuclear loan guarantees have not been claimed six years after the program was created</a>:<br /><blockquote>WASHINGTON — In an effort to encourage nuclear power, Congress voted in 2005 to authorize $17.5 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors. Now, six years later, with the industry stalled by poor market conditions and the Fukushima disaster, nearly half of the fund remains unclaimed. And yet Congress, at the request of the Obama administration, is preparing to add $36 billion in nuclear loan guarantees to next year’s budget. <br /><br />Even supporters of the technology doubt that new projects will surface any time soon to replace those that have been all but abandoned. </blockquote>I propose that some of these funds be repurposed to support offshore wind power. In contrast to the nuclear industry, wind power projects are moving ahead despite the lack of a long-term commitment from the federal government. Only one nuclear power project has progressed far enough in the last six years to make a successful application for an $8.8 billion loan guarantee. The same amount would help finance wind power projects up and down the east coast.<br /><br />By shifting a portion of the loan guarantee program from nuclear to wind power, the federal government could offer meaningful support to this promising industry at no new cost to taxpayers.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Thomas Noyes</blockquote>Tom Noyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304960210838414244noreply@blogger.com1